Need Hellp what lighting do i need

[Tom Marino]

OK I going to a 150 36'' deep tank. do i go with PC or HM and if i go with HM can I use a grow lamp. what watts do i need? Help

Tom:confused2:

[zoa]

depends on what you are keeping and MH or metal halide are the grow lights

[nahtanoj]

yes, there are many factors that go into lighting. i would not go with a grow light, hydroponics i'm guessing is what you are referring too, it will be difficult to find a color temp bulb you are after. many hydroponic lights are sodium bulbs also, which do not penetrate water well.
i would also steer you away from PC's. they are pretty old technology and not as efficient or effective as standard T5 lighting.
my personal opinion would be T5 lights. they are bright, efficient, and you can switch out bulbs to get the color you are looking for. for that depth of tank a minimum of 6 bulbs if you are looking to keep corals toward the bottom of the tank. 8 would be even better. if you are just keeping fish and a few basic corals toward the top 2/3's of the tank, 4 bulbs will do.

[Tom Marino]

so T5 are newer technology is that the same a VHO lighting?

[nahtanoj]

no, VHO is a T12 bulb.
the T# is a description of the size. a T5 is 5/8" inch diameter, a t8(like what you see in most office buildings) is 8/8" or, 1" diameter, and the T12 is 12/8", or 1 1/2" diameter.
the difference in lighting for florescent bulbs comes down to watt's used vs. light output.
for power consumption, 1x 48" t5 uses 54w, 1x48" T12 uses 80w, and for PC's to cover a 48" span, you will use 2x65w(130w total).
i don't have the exact #'s on light output, but if i recall off the top of my head, t5's put out twice as much PAR as PC's per square inch, and 3x's as t12's per square inch.
so T5's use less electricity and produce more light.
here is an example of a good T5 light.
http://www.aquabuys.com/page/aqb/PROD/ss_tekl_48_6
you can also use a retro kit if you are using a canopy.
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~category~IceCap_48_Inch_T5HO_Retrofit_ Kit_w__IceCap_660_009_Ballast_(T5_Bulbs_Not_Includ ed)_T5_Fluorescent_Retrofit_Kits~vendor~IceCap~idP roduct~IC1635~idCategory~FILTRTRFT5.html

[Tom Marino]

my head in spinning
so what your are telling me is that the 5 give me more for less? the t5 will get to the bottom of my tank what if i was to run 2 125 pcs and 2 96 pcs and i found grow lamps with 14k and 20k lamps

[lth03]

Is your tank 36" deep?What is the dimensions of your tank?Lighting set up will depend on the dimensions of the tank very much,if we get more informations about the tank,the advise will be more accurate,less confusion.

[mj1333]

Depends how much you wanna pay for your electric bill and whether you like the "shimmer" effect. With a 36" tall tank, I personally would go for a minimum of 2 or 3 (depends how wide your tank is.) 250w metal halides, maybe even 400w. I like the shimmer produced by metal halides, but they use more energy and give off more heat which would most likely require a fan to cool them with if there's a canopy. I use
4 - 250w meatal halides on my 24" tall 240. I have an open top, no canopy so there's really no heat issue. i like the shimmer of MH. I guess you could get the same effet from t5's if you use led supplement lighting.

[nahtanoj]

T5's will penetrate to the bottom of the tank, much better than PC's, and use less electricity doing it.
mh's will work as well.
you should look at power consumption of T5 vs. the MH's you want.
also look at the difference in the look of each. mh's have the "shimmer" effect, T5's are solid light, no shimmer.